Reconstructing the History and the Effects of Mechanization in a Small-Scale Fishery of Flores, Eastern Indonesia (1917–2014)

Abstract

The number of studies on small-scale fishing communities has grown considerably over the past 30 years. Evidence on how the process of mechanization and technological expansion has affected traditional small-scale fishers in peripheral regions, however, is less abundant. For areas like Eastern Indonesia that are now facing important challenges in governance and resource degradation, lack of information impairs the design of long-term environmental solutions. This article explores the changes in fishing participation and per capita seafood intake in a small-scale fishery in Flores, Eastern Indonesia over the past 100 years . By combining multiple sources of information (ethnographic, observational, nutritional, and historical) to reconstruct the story of stocks, fishing effort, and consumption of marine products, long-term trajectories, and trends in resource use practices are identified. Findings underline that mechanization and commercialization can have dire repercussions on food security and job stability within small-scale fishing sectors, especially if these processes are not part of comprehensive community development programs. The article concludes that understanding the outcomes of mechanization at the fringes of more centralized systems is essential to navigate the trade-offs among poverty reduction, economic growth, and environmental degradation.

Taboos, food avoidances, and diseases: Local epistemologies of health among Coastal Endenese in Eastern Indonesia

“…This cosmology underlines the existence of human-animal-supernatural interactions and reflects Endenese beliefs about the origin of life. Even when some of the meanings behind institutions, rituals, and norms have morphed or disappeared over time, and while not all dietary prescriptions reflect origin stories but issues of preference, essential cosmological notions are still respected (Ramenzoni, 2017). This can be seen in the existence of generalized avoidances among the whole group, the presence of taboos among 38% of interviewed households, and the observance of special prohibitions set individually or determined by life stages such as those followed during pregnancy.…”

“…This article proposes as its main goal to explore how different types of prescriptions and beliefs about the spiritual world regarding the consumption of maritime and coastal items shape dietary practices within a small-scale fishery in Ende, Eastern Indonesia. Experiencing some of the highest rates of poverty, stunting, and nutritional pathologies in Indonesia, Endenese rely heavily on subsistence fishing for their livelihood (Anonymous, 2016;Ramenzoni, 2017;Matondang 2017). By eliciting prohibitions and common prescriptions observed by this society, the article emphasizes the need to understand taboos and dietary avoidances within the larger cosmological and religious system.…”

“…Unfortunately, the absence of industrial facilities that may allow for the processing and refrigeration of seafood limits capacity. While both the regional and local governments have encouraged an increase in marine landings, there is scarce support for long-term development of the fisheries and some issues of potential overfishing have been observed by the communities (Ramenzoni, 2017).…”

Co-governance, Transregional Maritime Conventions, and Indigenous Customary Practices Among Subsistence Fishermen in Ende, Indonesia

“…Whereas a strong independence ethos embodies both local and transregional values, it also responds to the fishermen's need for flexibility to cope with socioecological uncertainties. In Ende, uncertainties are a product of economic and environmental change and of the fragmented sporadic attempts at industrialization of the fishery sector that critically alters labor conditions (Ramenzoni, 2015(Ramenzoni, , 2017. Among fishermen, independence is not incompatible with equity and equitable distribution.…”

“…In tandem with coral blasting, over the past 40 years, the regency has experienced an irregular intensification of its fishing effort (Ramenzoni, 2017). Still, mechanization and industrial development are extremely limited.…”